Miriam Soljak | |
|---|---|
 Soljak in a passport photograph, 1936 | |
| Born | Miriam Bridelia Cummings 15 June 1879 |
| Died | 28 March 1971 (aged 91) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nationality |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1919–1946 |
| Known for | Campaigning for women's individual nationality legislation |
| Relatives |
|
Miriam Bridelia Soljak (née Cummings; 15 June 1879 – 28 March 1971) was a pioneering New Zealand feminist, communist, unemployed rights activist and supporter of family planning efforts. Born in Thames, New Zealand, she was raised as a Catholic and studied to be a teacher. From 1898 to 1912, she taught in native schools, learning about Māori culture and becoming fluent in the language. In 1908, she married Peter Soljak, an immigrant from Dalmatia, now part of Croatia, but at the time part of the Austrian Empire. In 1919, because of war legislation, she was denaturalised and forced to register as an enemy alien, because of her marriage. Despite their divorce in 1939, Soljak was unable to recover her British nationality.
In protest, Soljak led a campaign that lasted for nearly thirty years for women to have their own individual nationality in New Zealand. She was involved in health issues which included child welfare, family planning and contraception, infant and maternal mortality, and sex education. Economic concerns such as mother's endowments, pensions for elders and the infirm, unemployment compensation for women, as well as policies that assisted homeless women, widows, and separated women were also a focus of Soljak's work. She also strove to support indigenous communities, becoming involved in the protection of Māori women and girls and Samoan independence movement, though she was a pacifist. In 1946, New Zealand amended the nationality law, changing the policy that a woman automatically acquired her husband's nationality upon marriage.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search